The Saints made it four wins from the last five games with a 1-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday evening, with defender Maya Yoshida the surprise match-winner after his first-half goal.

Ronald Koeman's men went down to ten men in the second half after Victor Wanyama was sent off, but Southampton stood strong to keep a fifth consecutive clean sheet.

Many players came out of the game with great praise, particularly goalkeeper Fraser Forster, but defender Virgil van Dijk has also been hailed for his performance.

The Dutch international centre back, who joined from Celtic back in September, has adjusted well to life in the Premier League, and impressed again over the weekend.

Now, former Southampton midfielder and current pundit Jamie Redknapp has spoken to Sky Sports about Van Dijk's performance, labelling his display against West Ham target man Andy Carroll as 'immense'.

Redknapp also predicted that Van Dijk can go all the way to the top of the game, if he continues to learn from manager Koeman on the South Coast.

"He's only 24 years of age, and the physical battle is something he seems to enjoy," said Redknapp. "If you were ultra-critical of how he plays, he loves to play football but can he handle the physical side of the game? But he loved it."

"He won every header, and for that last 20 minutes when Carroll came on, I thought he was immense, I really did. He's 24, and no disrespect to Southampton, I think if he keeps developing, and learning off the manager that he's got, he can go right to the top - I really think he's got all those attributes," he added.

Olly Dawes

Olly is a Sports Management graduate and aspiring journalist, with most of his work surrounding football or NFL. He has formed two of his own sites, as well as contributing to a number of others before starting with Here Is The City.